1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus to support Wi-Fi Direct, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus to communicate with an external wireless device by supporting Wi-Fi Direct and a method of Wi-Fi Direct connecting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, peer-to-peer (P2P) communication by which wireless devices are directly connected without an additional wireless connecting apparatus is generalized and widely used. For example, Bluetooth enables such P2P communication. Although Bluetooth is limited to some extent in terms of transmission speed and transmission range, new versions of Bluetooth are continuously being developed to supplement the limitations.
In addition, Wi-Fi, which is a wireless local area network (LAN) standard based on IEEE 802.11 regulated by Wi-Fi Alliance, is basically a technology that allows using ultra-high speed internet by accessing an access point (AP) connected to a network infrastructure; however, Wi-Fi may serve the P2P communication by using an ad hoc mode. When using this ad-hoc mode, however, security is weakened, a transmission speed decreases, and an establishing method thereof is difficult to perform. Accordingly, Wi-Fi Alliance has suggested Wi-Fi Direct as a technique that makes P2P communication possible. Wi-Fi Direct allows P2P connection between wireless devices without using an AP, supports a transmission speed of a maximum of 250 Mbps, and performs security settings by using Wi-Fi protected access 2 (WPA2), in order to address problems of the ad-hoc function. In addition, Wi-Fi Direct supports a transmission range of a 200 m maximum, and thus, is considered as a substitute for P2P communication.
As described above, with the appearance of Wi-Fi Direct, use of P2P communication has increased more. However, P2P communication technology may need to be applied to image forming apparatuses, such as printers, scanners, fax machines, and multi-function printers. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a technique for safely and easily using an image forming apparatus supporting P2P connection.